Bohs settle for draw after Jersey Express claws back late

The Baltimore Bohemians looked primed to chalk up their second league win of the season on Saturday against the Mid-Atlantic Division leaders, Jersey Express. However, two late goals by the visitors dashed the hopes of the hosts, ending the match in a 3-3 draw at Paul Angelo Russo Stadium.

The visitors nearly scored the opener after only 17 minutes, as a giveaway by Baltimore keeper Andrew Harris was plucked away by Kene Eze, but the forward could only steer the ball off the near post.

Just past the half-hour mark, Baltimore gained the advantage. After 33 minutes, Austin Martz found Kingsley Onwuka near the box, firing a shot that was blocked away by Express netminder Matthew Turner, but the rebound fell kindly back to Onwuka, who netted an easy tap-in for the 1-0 lead.

Eight minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead, as Malcolm Harris fed Melvin Snoh for a shot from outside the 18. The drive took a slight deflection and found its way past Turner for the game's second goal.

After the halftime interval, the visitors wasted little time getting a foot back in the game. Barely 30 seconds had passed when Ansger Otto's run towards goal forced a tip out of Harris, but he couldn't contain the ball, as Otto drove the rebound back into the net to cut the lead in half.

On 51 minutes, the hosts restored the two-goal lead, as Martz's original shot was saved, but the rebound fell to Connor Thompson, who acrobatically slotted home a bicycle kick into the roof of the net for the highlight of the night, giving the Bohs a 3-1 advantage.

In the 63rd, Express substitute Brayan Martinez found Otto once more for a tight-angled shot. He would have had his second of the night, if it weren't for some quick thinking from the Baltimore defense, who managed to sweep the ball off the line in the nick of time.

Plenty of fresh faces entered the match for both sides late in the proceedings, and one of the new entrants for the Express, Jakeem Johnson, cut the lead to one just seconds before the start of stoppage time.

Baltimore looked to have the win in hand, but as the match crept into the fifth added minute, the Bohs were whistled for a debatable handball inside the box, and as a result, Otto stepped up to take the penalty. He coolly sent a low drive to the left of Andrew Harris, tying the contest at 3-3 with only seconds remaining.

The Bohemians (1-2-2) have a week to prepare for their next game, a road match against New Jersey LUSO-Parma on June 15th. Baltimore defeated LUSO 3-0 in their first meeting on May 31st.

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Jeff is a lifelong fan of the beautiful game. He began his soccer career in 2008 with Crystal Palace Baltimore as an intern and statistician. When the team moved up to the USSF D-2 Pro League in 2010, Jeff served as color commentator and fill-in play-by-play announcer. In 2012, Jeff joined the Baltimore Bohemians of the PDL as their public address announcer and staff writer. A graduate of UMBC and the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland, Jeff looks to bring Baltimore soccer fans interesting and compelling stories about the game at a more local level. Contact Jeff at umbie08@gmail.com.